Propelling device for airships.



A. SGHAEFFER. PROPELLING DEVICE FOR AIRSHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1911.

1 ,035,4:79. Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

2 SHEET8SHEET 1.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY A. SCHABPFER. PROPELLING DEVICE FOR AIRSHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 12, 1911.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES 9% wm UNITED srarns PATENT orrron.

ANSELM SCI-IAEFFER, OF ELIZABETH, NEW JERSEY.

PROPELLING DEVICE FOR AIRSHIPS.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Anselm ScirA'nrvnu, a subject of the King of Hungary, and resident of Elizabeth, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propelling Devices for Airships, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to flying machines, and has for 'one of its objects to produce improved means of propulsion, which may be employed upon flying machines of the aeroplane type, or upon the balloon type, just as well.

With these and other objects in view, which will more fully appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the combination, arrangement and construction of parts hereinafter fully described, pointed out in the appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, it being understood that many changes may be made in the size and proportion of the several parts and minor details of construction without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

One of the many possible embodiments of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of an aeroplane provided with auxiliary propelling means constructed in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the auxiliary propelling means shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings; Fig. 4; is a section taken on line l-4- of Fig. 3; and Fig. 5 is a plan View of a detail of construction.

In the drawings, the numeral 6 indicates the frame of an aerial vessel of the aeroplane type, which frame is made of a suitable rigid and light material, and provided with two poiser or glider frames 7 and 7 one arranged above the other, as usual in constructions of the biplane type. These frames are covered with silk or other suitable material. Upon two frame members 8, 8, which project a considerable distance beyond the frames 7 7, is oscillatably arranged the steering means of the vessel, said steering means comprising two horizontally arranged planes 9, 9, which are pivoted at 10 to the frame members 8, 8, and a vertically arrangedplane 11, attached to a vertical pivot 12, the latter being oscillatably Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 12, 1911.

Patented All". 13, 1912.

Serial No. 648,928.

arranged in the frames of the planes 9, 9. The means for actuating thesteering planes 9, 9 and 11 are not shown in the drawings, as their constri'lotimi is well known and since they do not form part of this invention.

Below the upper frame 7, and preferably upon the lower frame 7 arranged a suitable source of power actuating the main propelling means of the vessel, said source of power comprising in the present case an internal combustion engine 13, for instance a one cylinder engine, to the horizontally arranged shaft 14- of which is keyed a screw propeller 15 of the required size and pitch, and acting in the well known manner. The construction and operation of the aeroplane so far described does not vary in any essential way from those heretofore known and used.

An auxiliary propelling means 16 is mounted in front of the poiser or glider frames 7 and 7, and comprises more particularly a horizontal shaft 17, the squared ends 18, 18 of which are arranged in brackets 19, 1.9, and held therein against rotation. This shaft is provided with two cranks 20, 20 for a purpose which will be hereinafter described. Upon the shaft 17 are rotatably mounted two disks 21., 21, spaced apart and connected by stay-rods 22, 22, and having fixedly attached to the outer sides of the same, sprocket wheels 23, 23, meshing with chains 24:, which run over sprocket wheels 25, 25, keyed to the shaft 26 of a suitable motor, such as for instance an internal combustion engine 27. To each of the stay-rods 22 is pivotally attached a float or vane 28, to the inner end of which are pivoted at 29, 29 two actuating rods 30, 30, the other ends of which are pivoted at 31, 31 to the crank pins 32, 32 of the cranks 20, 20. This construction forms, in fact, a paddle wheel having feathering vanes or floats. Since the cranks 20, 20 are stationary and the vanes 28 move with the disks 21, 21, it will be observed that the vanes are turned so as to offer less or no resistance to their passage through the air when they have passed through the effective portion of their rotation. The vanes feather about axes which are parallel to the axis of the wheel; more particularly they feather around the stay-rods 22, which are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the paddle wheel. The operation of this device is as follows: The paddle wheel is rotated in the direction of the arrows shown in Figs. 1 and 4 of the drawings. For clearness sake, the four vanes or floats are indicated by the numerals I, II, III and IV. When anyone of the blades is in the position indicated by the numeral 1, it acts upon the air edgewise and is about to force the air downward until it reaches the position of the blade II, when it will cause the air to move toward the rear of the machine until it reaches the position of the blade Ill. Thereafter it will cause an upward flow of air toward the undersurface of the glider frame 7, and be brought gradually into the position of the blade 1V, where it has passed through the effective portion of its rotation. lit is then nearly in a vertical position, and will, until it reaches the position of the blade I, strike the air edgewise, avoiding thus a beating and moving of the air. The vanes or floats 28 oscillate around the stay-rods 22, and rotate bodily around the axis of the wheel, that is the shaft 17, while the actuating rods 30 turn around the stationary crank pins 32, or in other words around pins which are located eccentrically relative to the shaft 17. This particular location of the axis of the paddle wheel relative to the crank pins 32 causes the vanes or floats to move in the manner hereinabove specified.

The auxiliary propelling means are particularly made use of in starting the glide of the aeroplane. As mentioned hereinbefore, when the vanes in their rotation have reached the position of the blade 71H (shown in Fig. 4: of the drawings), the air in front of the same is caused to move upward toward the underside of the upper glide frame 7 This action has, of course, a lifting effect. When the proper height is attained, the speed of the auxiliary propelling means may be decreased to a minimum, so as not to interfere with the proper action of the aeroplane. For this purpose, of course, a suitable means must be provided for varying the rotative speed of the sprocket wheels 25, or of the shaft 26 of the internal combustion engine 27.

When the auxiliary propelling means is in action, it has besides the effect mentioned another one, that is to cause a flow of air toward the rear of the machine, this movement of air, being in the same direction as that caused by the screw propeller 15, will aid to a great extent the action of the screw propeller, and thereby increase eifectively the speed of the aeroplane.

While herein the device has been de scribed as an auxiliary propelling means, it is obvious that it can be used just as well as the main propelling means of aerial vessels, whether they are of the heavier or of the lighter than air type.

It is to be noted that means may be provided for shifting the crankshaft 17 through predetermined angular distances, or in other words to set the same relative to a stationary part of the frame of the aerial vessel, whereby the relative positions of the vanes of the paddle wheel will be changed, and thereby their propelling actions influenced.

What I claim is 1. In a propelling means for airships, the combination with a stationary crankshaft, of two disks rotatably arranged thereon, stayrods rigidly connecting said disks, a vane pivoted near its outer edge to each stay-rod, an actuating rod for each vane pivoted to the inner edge of the latter and to the crank pin of said crankshaft, and means for rotating said disks and the parts carried thereby, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a propelling means for airships, the combination with a wheel comprising two disks spaced apart and rigidly connected by a plurality of stay-rods, of a vane pivoted near its outer end to each stay-rod, a stationary pin arranged eccentrically relative to the longitudinal axis of said wheel, an actuating rod for each vane pivoted to the inner edge of the latter and to said stationary pin, and means for rotating said wheel and the parts carried thereby, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 9th day of September, A. D. 1911.

ANSELM SCHAEFFER.

Witnesses SIGMUND Hnnzoe, M. FRIEDLANDER.

Copies of this patent maybe obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D.- C. 

